On Monday, University of California, Los Angeles law professor Rick Hasen suggested that a constitutional amendment is necessary to tackle the influence of "ultra-wealthy" individuals, such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in political campaigns.
Musk is backing America PAC, a super PAC aimed at supporting former President Donald Trump in key states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada. Additionally, on Saturday, Musk announced his intention to contribute $1 million each day to a random signer of a petition on the PAC’s website.
“To be clear, under current law, it’s unconstitutional, thanks to the Supreme Court, to limit spending in elections,” Hasen said on MSNBC. “The Supreme Court decided that in 1976 and reaffirmed it in the Citizens United case in 2010.”
“You know, Congress tried to pass laws eliminating spending by the ultra-rich in elections, and the Supreme Court said that’s a violation of the First Amendment,” Hasen continued. “So, all the other things that Musk is doing—his work with X, his giving money to the super PAC—are all considered legal under the current system. And then the question is, do we want to think about amending the Constitution to change the role of the ultra-wealthy?”
Hasen believes that despite the inability to restrict spending, Musk’s giveaway could result in his prosecution, and with our current weaponized Department of Justice, he’s likely correct. “But that’s really very different from what Musk is doing with this lottery, which seems to be a clear violation of federal law,” Hasen said.
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